


La Monarque de Paris

by Angy98



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Butterfly Nathalie Sancoeur, Emilie Agreste Lives, Gen, Implied/Referenced Character Death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-12
Updated: 2021-02-12
Packaged: 2021-03-11 23:20:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,727
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29375553
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Angy98/pseuds/Angy98
Summary: After two months without Hawkmoth and his akuma attacks, right when Ladybug and Chat noir think that everything is over, the heroes are faced by a new, powerful villain.
Comments: 3
Kudos: 14





	La Monarque de Paris

Despite it being the middle of winter, the light of a bright morning sun shone on the city of Paris, brightening classrooms, apartments, laboratories and rooms of all sorts.

Standing alone in the middle of a dusty, cold empty room, locked away from anyone’s gaze, there was a woman; Nathalie sighed, as she ran a hand along the ice-cold metal surface surrounding the room that had become Hawkmoth's lair.

It had been over two months since the last time she visited that room. It was much colder than what she remembered, she thought, hugging herself.

Two months earlier, Hawkmoth died by his own magical wish, his life taken away to save Emilie’s. 

It took Nathalie a good part of the first month to finally be able to drag herself out of the crippling grief that took hold of her and that left her devoid of any energy, spending most of the day crying. Then, once she found the strength to stand up and piece herself back together, it took several more days for her not to break down in tears whenever she set foot in the old lair, and to finally be able to accept a transformation that reminded her so much of Gabriel, and of the fact that he was gone.

Nooroo flew out of her suit jacket, looking meekly around the room. The kwami hid in his shoulders, intimidated by the stifling atmosphere around him. Everything was even sadder without the butterflies that used to live there; Adrien and Emilie decided to have them removed from the house now that they no longer had a purpose. They would have only served as a grim reminder of everything that happened.

Nathalie took a deep breath, her hands closing into fists.  _ I can make it. For you, mon âme.  _ “Nooroo. Dark wings rise.”

Once she transformed, Nathalie opened the top of her cane’s handle and let out a small white butterfly. “Go, my trusted friend!” The woman spoke to the butterfly after turning it black. “Fly low, and find a safe place to rest. Get stronger,  _ mon petit _ !”

The butterfly took flight, fluttering toward the opening in the big window. Remaining unseen, the black insect flew across Paris’ streets, eventually landing on a gutter to rest and begin the multiplication process.

\- - - - -

A few blocks away, Marinette, Alya and their friends Rose and Mylene were walking home from school. 

Marinette was still the guardian of several magical jewels, and hence her life was still far from being ordinary, but she was adjusting to a way more ‘regular’ daily life. She still wore her earrings day and night, but since Hawkmoth’s defeat she never had the need to use her powers to fight again. Being Ladybug just for patrols left her more time to dedicate to her loved ones and to her hobbies, and even Lila’s vexations against her had toned down, letting Marinette breathe when she was at school.

As they walked, Marinette bumped into a woman. The girl apologized for her clumsiness, but the woman remained still, staring at her with a tired empty gaze. The girls walked past her and, commenting on the weird encounter, resumed their small talks.

Further down the street, something caught Marinette’s eyes; two men walked into each other, and groaned as they parted ways. Both were stumbling and taking clumsy steps, reminding her of the zombies she’d recently seen in a movie. Alya and Rose exchanged glances; there was something off about the whole situation.

However, the confirmation that something was wrong came when, just outside of Marinette’s parents’ bakery, a woman called Ladybug’s name as she walked on, looking as tired and devoid of emotions as the other ‘zombies’.

Marinette’s blood ran cold. People walking like zombies calling her name… It had been  _ months _ , since the last time she saw these signs. Those people looked as if they were under a spell, or controlled by-

It couldn’t be! Hawkmoth was gone; he had been for over two months! The butterfly brooch went missing, right after his death, but when they saw nothing was happening, both Marinette and Adrien thought that everything was over.

Alya and Mylene suggested to split and get to cover, until they had a better clue of what was going on.

As soon as she was alone, Marinette hid in the nearest alley and opened her purse. “Did you see that too?” The girl whispered to Tikki, her blue eyes wide in fear. 

“I did! It looks like the work of an-”

“-akuma!” Marinette interjected. “I thought so. But  _ how _ ?”

Tikki didn’t reply. Shrugging, the kwami shook her head. 

With a worried sigh, Marinette called her transformation and took a few leaps to reach a rooftop that could give her a better view of the streets below.

\- - - - -

In her lair, Nathalie waited, alternatively taking control of one of her victims or another, watching through their eyes looking for any sign of Paris’ super-heroes.

The woman moved her head to get a loose strand of hair out of her face. She now wore her hair much shorter, in her civilian form, and she had gotten rid of the red streak, dyeing it back to her natural color. There was no point in looking like her old self, if that Nathalie had died along with Gabriel.

But the butterfly Miraculous had other plans; her transformation added her old streak back to her hair - although now it was light purple to match the rest of her suit - almost as if it was a reminder of who she was and why she was there.

Suddenly, she was no longer looking down at the cane in front of her, but at a crowded square. One of her subjects was communicating with her, signaling that they had found Ladybug.

Nathalie’s blue eyes lit up with mischief as soon as she saw the young heroine. “There she is, Nooroo!” The woman whispered with a smirk, even though the kwami wasn’t next to her to reply. “Now we’re going to have some  _ fun _ …!”

\- - - - -

Ladybug found herself cornered; one of the ‘zombies’ noticed her while she was hiding behind a parked car and called for the others. In the blink of an eye, there was an entire crowd of spellbound people trying to trap her.

Ladybug took a look around. The zombies were inching closer from every direction!

_ Calm down, Marinette! Think! _

They couldn’t all be individual akumas, because she knew that Hawkmoth didn’t have that much power, so it must have been a single akuma influencing civilians, like Princess Fragrance or Dark Cupid. But what should she do to break the spell?

The girl spun her yo-yo, getting ready to defend herself.

“Ladybug!” Sabrina exclaimed, her words commanded by Nathalie. “I’ve finally found you!” The red haired girl tried to reach for Ladybug, but the heroine dodged her and pushed her back.

“You thought you defeated me, huh?” Roger voice said, as he marched toward Ladybug brandishing his police baton.

“I came back from the  _ dead _ !” Clara Contard said menacingly, watching as the heroine dealt with Roger.

“And, this time, I’m here to  _ destroy _ you, you annoying pest!” Kagami hissed, sprinting towards Ladybug to hit her. In order to dodge her friend’s attack, Ladybug took a leap backwards, but was caught by a pair of strong arms from someone behind her. The girl tried to wriggle out of André’s grip, but the ice-cream man held her tight.

Right as another zombie was about to reach her earrings, André suddenly loosened his hold on her, making her fall down on the ground. Ladybug turned around to find Chat Noir pushing back the ice-cream man with his baton.

“Chat Noir!” The heroine exclaimed, relieved to see her partner there with her. “Thank you for the rescue!”

“Any time, Milady!” The boy replied, kicking away a man who was about to punch him. “I wasn’t expecting to face the walking dead, when I woke up this morning!”

“Me neither. We have to find a way to help them all!” Ladybug said, as they kept fighting back to back.

\- - - - -

“There’s no way out for you, this time! I’ll be your worst nightmare, a torment that will follow you everywhere you go.” Nathalie went on, speaking through her glowing mask. 

The woman’s mind went back to the day Gabriel finally had the upper hand on the heroes and made his wish, and on the words that Marinette said when Nathalie begged her to let her reverse the spell.

_ No one else is using these jewels! It’s a life for a life, you just saw it. It could be mine, yours, Adrien’s… I have no intention of risking anyone else’s life! _

Her grip around her cane tightened in anger, so much that her hand hurt. “You took everything I had away from me, Ladybug, and I can’t wait to return the favor!”

\- - - - -

Ladybug sighed in exhaustion, as she leaned back against the brick wall behind her. She and Chat Noir had spent hours fighting and rescuing the spellbound citizens, breaking the object that held the butterfly. None of the people they had faced so far seemed to be the main akuma that controlled the others, and there were still a few people following them around.

Eventually, at least, they had found a safe place to rest for a while and catch their breath.

“What does this all mean?” Chat Noir asked, finally getting the chance to ask what he’d been meaning to all that time. “Is… is there a new Hawkmoth?” Adrien was feeling dizzy, tired out by the fight and by the continuous rush of adrenaline it brought with it. Sure enough, once they would actually manage to find and neutralize the main akuma, he would have gone to bed and slept for an entire day.

“It seems so. I have no idea who it could be, Chat!” Ladybug replied, just as scared as her partner. The former Hawkmoth rarely let out akumas as aggressive and tough as that one. Whoever was behind the mask now was someone very powerful.

  
  


Suddenly, all around them, advertising screens took life, revealing the familiar face of Nadja Chamack. “Behold, citizens of Paris!” The woman exclaimed, staring into the camera with menacing eyes. She had fallen victim to the akumas as well. “There’s a new supervillain in town, and her name is Papillon Monarque!”


End file.
